I’m really not sure but I think these photos are from the first McClain All-Class Reunion that was held during the summer of 1999. The Clyburns permitted the temporary conversion of their restaurant into a make-shift Penny’s and it quickly became a major gathering place during the weekend. The Penn family loaned the
Continue reading Some Random Photos Of The 1999 All-Class Reunion
Over the holidays I watched the Netflix documentary, The American Factory. It’s about the closure of a GM factory in Dayton and its subsequent purchase by a Chines billionaire. His company invested lots of money, got lots of tax abatements, and created hundreds of jobs. They brought in an army of Chinese managers and tried to convince American workers they should succumb to Chinese work ethics and blind loyalty to the company.
It wasn’t long before an attempt to organize arose and not much longer before that attempt was crushed and those responsible were shown the door. When it was a GM plant the wage was $29 an hour plus benefits. After a couple of years, the starting wage under the Chinese was still only $14 an hour with far fewer benefits. The workers are mostly overworked, under-paid, underrepresented, and safety-wise, under-protected.
Continue reading It’s Still The Economy and You May Still Be Stupid!
Here’s a quiz. Which president said the following:
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: Nixon, Kennedy, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, Johnson, Ford
The above is, more or less, very famous quotes from some of our most popular presidents. Those who are favorably mentioned in the history books. They are things that made such an impact or had such an import, that they have found a permanents place in the common lexicon of Americans.
With the very volatile situation that now exists between the United States and Iran, it’s necessary that we all have some mastery over certain words. Here’s a basic list that will help you understand the things that may become realities for us:
Jerry Falconer had told me of the plans to begin demolishing the old building that for decades sat on the corner of routes 753 and 138. Over the years the building was home to many things but for most people, it is remembered as being the original home of Charlie Beechler’s Market.
I went to town yesterday to video some of the project and parked in the lot at Smitty’s Auto Sales. The video is about an hour long and I realize that is too much for most people. However, I was going to watch as much as time permitted so it mattered not that my camera was running.
So, watch some or watch all but, I’m betting most of you will have some emotional moment while watching it. Lots of Greenfield’s memories are tied to that building.
We’ve fed the birds for years and have loved every penny we’ve spent on suet and black oil sunflower seeds. Close at hand is a Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide and every species that shows up gets noted with the day and year it first appeared at our feeders. I’m pretty sure that if it weren’t for bar hopping, I could have gotten into bird watching as a hobby when I was younger.
DRINK MORE BEER: Americans are drinking less beer. In 2018 consumption was down 1.6% and the trend continues. Ciders and hard seltzers are now the things.
Here’s where having Donald Trump in the White House gets really damned scary. Everyone admits that the main Iranian military leader, and possibly the second most powerful person in that nation, was killed by an American missile strike. The US openly admits that we did it, that we targeted the guy, an that the order came from Trump.
The questions now include, why did we do it, was there a genuine threat to America, was it thoroughly thought through, were the consequences seriously considered before the trigger was pulled. and most importantly, can we trust the word of our government; a government led by a man who has twisted the truth (lied) over 16,000 times just since taking office just three years ago?
The Imagination Kingdom was funded with pennies collected by the students of Greenfield Elementary School. It was built by an all-volunteer army of community labor in 1993.
Over the quarter-century, a lot of little feet romped over those boards but finally, it had run its course. The boards were rotting and the cost of maintenance too high.
I was talking with a couple of younger people who have both been employed in the field of higher education and can speak with some authority. I was surprised when both spoke about how traditional colleges and universities were losing students by the droves.
We went over some of the possible reasons and I think we agreed that there were multiple reasons. There was some agreement that part of it may have to do with the populist’s idea that colleges are elite liberal institutions and are part of some deep state plot to suppress the common man. While that is basically nonsense it is mostly true that people with college educations do tend to become a part of the elite establishment. After all, aren’t degrees supposed to result in better paying and important jobs? Isn’t that what we parents hope to see our children accomplish when they leave the nest for academia? Another reality about higher education is that exposure to a variety of ideas (otherwise known as education) should make more likely to challenge the status quo. Maybe that’s what populist confuse with liberalism.
I saw this map online and it makes clear how much Highland County (one of the red counties), and many of its neighbors, have been overlooked 
by both government, industry, and business. We are among the poorest counties in the state and we are among the most solidly conservative and Republican. We desperately need change but we refuse to accept change. We are the victims of poor and expensive health care, we are the victims of poor jobs, low wages, and few fringe benefits. We have little to no systems for
Continue reading The realities that we refuse to acknowledge & change
THINK PLASTICS: Who knew that when The Graduate’s neighbor told him to consider a career in “plastics”, we’d end up with dying oceans filled with islands of floating plastic trash three times the size of France.
Yesterday or today Trump tweeted that the House of Representatives didn’t have the power to impeach him. Instantly I thought of the standard triangular graphic that appears in absolutely every high school government or civics textbook.
There has never been a public school student who sat in one of the aforementioned classes and didn’t see something that closely resembled the attached graph. And, as they saw the graphic,
RETIRE TO VIETNAM: The LA Times reports that a growing number of Americans are retiring to Vietnam because of the extremely low cost of living, including health care.
This appeared on my Facebook feed last week and I think it pretty much says all that can honestly (HONESTLY) be said about Trump.
“A person asked the question, “Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?”
Chris O’Leary:
Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that
1.) I’m an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and
2.) If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?
Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.
A.) He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”
